Edge of the Empire: Special Modifications

Accessibility: 8/10

Special Modifications is the sourcebook for the technician career in Edge of the Empire. It begins with the normal short story and then breaks down the contents of the book. The book is broken into three parts.

Mechanic Salaries image on page 92

The first part of the book covers the types of jobs a technician can take such as speeder bike repair or a celebrity technician. As well as a table covering how the obligations in the core book relate specifically to a technician. It also gives 4 new species to play with. You have the dug which can be remembered from Sebulba in Episode I, a besalisk which can be remembered from Dex and his diner in Episode II, and the mustafarians from the volcanic planet Mustafar. They can briefly be seen in Episode III but come with two variants. One of the starts of the book is the new specializations added. You have the Cyber Tech which can increase their cybernetics cap, heal with repair patches, and even overcharge cybernetics. Next you have the Droid Tech which can make special storage compartments in vehicles and eauipment, reduce the cost for constructing droids and equipment, and even reassign droid characteristics. Finally you get the Modder who can add hard points to items, work on larger vehicles, and even change the attachments on an item for cheap. For the crafter character this book is a must. The book also has the potential motivations for a technician with examples of how they work. This book also adds two signature abilities to the technician career. The first lets you instantly craft an item, even in the middle of combat, and the other allows them to reroll multiple dice for a check.

Signature Ability Unmatched Calibration on page 40

The second chapter includes the new weapons, which are few. But it does have profiles for tools as weapons. It also has some decent armor and some great cybernetics. The best of which is the Biofeedback Regulator which increases any character’s cybernetics cap by 2. There is also some cool slicing equipment and a bunch of construction equipment useful to a group trying to make a larger operation. There are also some fun remotes like shielding remotes that protect the holder and repair remotes. There’s a plethora of weapon attachments and armor attachments including the an attachment that allows armor to repair itself. There are a few vehicles though they are mostly focused on transporting goods and providing cybernetics shops. There is a starfighter that has 8 hard points and a load of custom attachments for it so it can fulfill any role. There are also some fun vehicle attachments like the Pseudo-Cloaking Device and a Gunnery Droid Brain.

Droid crafting personality table on page 83

The last chapter is the big one that made people excited for this book’s release. This chapter includes all the rules for crafting. It first gives some tips on integrating a technician with the rest of the party and making fun encounters just for technicians. After that though is all the rules for making custom weapons, armor, droids, gadgets, and cybernetics. These rules are fairly simple and are given in such a way that makes it so anyone can understand them. Crafting is similar to any other skill check and even has a chart for spending advantage and threat like a combat roll. The writing is nicely segmented and worded in simplistic terms. The rules are clearly explained outside of the flavor text so you don’t have to try and separate the rules from the fluff. The tables are nicely organized and easy to read making this a great introduction to crafting in general for players new to RPGs in general. The book follows this with rules and tips for running encounters for hackers. It even includes the rules for specific hacking, or slicing, actions a slicer can take. There is also a fun section for selling custom tech so if the party wants to earn some extra money they can have a crafter sell some custom equipment. It gives a helpful chart to help judge the price of any crafted item. It also includes the suggested salaries for mechanics based on what they do as well as the pay for slicer for their operations. It ends with some tips and suggestions for rewarding technicians.

Overall the book is wonderful to read through. Every chapter is useful for players and the content inside is very much needed. It’s laid out in a very easy to read format and the information is presented clearly and simply. The style remains true to the core book and the additions are amazing. This is one of the few supplements that I would consider a necessity for any group. If you want to know how to craft your own droid companion you can find this book here.